Two-day pre-Halloween Festival to be held Oct. 26 and 27

During the Prohibition era, pirates would run rum through the Boynton Beach Inlet — rumor has it that even Al Capone's boys smuggled booze through those waters.

Now more than 90 years later, the city is using a piece of its history to help its rebranding with the Boynton Community Redevelopment Agency's Pirate Fest and Mermaid Splash on Oct. 26 and 27.

"Boynton Beach has never been a classy city, it's always been a waterfront pirate-y type of town," said Vivian Brooks, executive director of the CRA. "The event is uniquely Boynton."

This year will be the second year that pirates will sail into Boynton for a pre-Halloween street party, where East Ocean Avenue will transform from a quaint, quirky street into 'Hobb's Cove' – where pirates and mermaids roam free.

Brooks said the event will be a good time for the public, but it's really about rebranding and marketing the city to bring people to the city's often desolate downtown.

"It's not prudent to not market your city," Brooks said. "We can see the result of not marketing our city, when you market your city, you get business. If you don't market yourself, you don't get anything."

On Saturday at 10 a.m., the pirates will tear up the streets of East Boynton before meeting up with the mermaids at 5 p.m. On Oct. 27, the pirates come back for more debauchery starting at 10 a.m.

"We decided that East Boynton would make a fine place to settle, and we find it appropriate to drop anchor in your city," said pirate Mike Suarez at a recent City Commission meeting, where he and another pirate came to formally announce the event.

Seventy-five pirates and two mermaids have been hired to entertain an expected crowd of 10,000 people. The event is costing the city $75,000, but officials say it's an investment in Boynton's future.

City officials say the event will feature live music, children's entertainment, pirate reenactments, stunt shows, swimming mermaids and plenty of offerings from local vendors.

This is the second year the city has thrown the Pirate Fest, but the first time that mermaids have made an appearance at the Mermaid Splash. The splash will begin with a parade and will feature paegents and contests that run on Saturday evening.

But, the biggest difference this year is that the city will get a bigger helping hand from local merchants.

The CRA has given out 11 free tents to local businesses to show residents and visitors the treasures that Boynton Beach has to offer.

Heather Gaker, co-owner of the Glass Mermaid art gallery, is thankful for the potential business boost that the event could bring to her shop.

"The shop that I'm in has been closed for a long time," Gaker said. "People don't realize that we're open and what's happening over here."

The Glass Mermaid is located on Ocean Avenue, an area where the city would like to see an art and entertainment hub.

To showcase the Glass Mermaid and other businesses, the CRA set up a scavenger hunt, where event-goers have to travel to 15 different locations, including businesses, to gather clues for a grand prize.

"It'll be a great way for new people to be directed to our shop," Gaker said.

If that doesn't draw people, maybe the two mermaids in a glass tank outside her shop will.

Steve Anton, Gaker's partner, is an underwater photographer and will be taking pictures of Trina Mason – a mermaid swimming in a 1,000 gallon tank.

Mason, 21, is full-time mermaid. She can hold her breath for three minutes and wears a silicone tail. She said her favorite part of her job is turning fables to reality.

"The best feeling is making the kids believe for a few minutes, days or months that you're a real mermaid," she said.

That's exactly what Brooks wants. She wants people to believe in the fantasy of the festival and also to believe that Boynton Beach can turn around economically.

"It's about bringing community together, really bring people from outside to see what we have within the city every year." Brooks said. "To me its economic development, the event will bring people who will spend money and leave with a good impression of the city. That's worth money to me."

If you go: The Pirate Fest is on Saturday and Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m. at 129 E. Ocean Ave. The Mermaid Splash starts on Saturday at 5 p.m. and lasts until 10 p.m. at 100 NE Fourth St. and East Ocean Avenue.